The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Festival of Insects

Festival of Insects

c. 1615–1868
(Japanese, d. 1492)
Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
hanging scroll, ink on paper
Image: 30.7 x 45 cm (12 1/16 x 17 11/16 in.); Overall: 122.5 x 55.9 cm (48 1/4 x 22 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1988.16
Location: not on view

Description

This painting depicts humanlike figures with antennae engaged in a festival procession. They transport a gourd like a float, with two teams pulling ropes in front, and others maneuvering it with poles from behind. They are accompanied by flutes and drums, urged on by a dancer holding a fan and a branch. The inscription is attributed to the monk-painter Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai), well known in Japan as a disciple of Ikkyū Sōjun and an accomplished portrait artist.
  • ?-1988
    (Heisando Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1988-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1988-present
  • Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Reproduced: cat. no. 77, p. 116
    Admired from afar: masterworks of Japanese painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art [クリーブランド美術館展 : 名画でたどる日本の美 Kurīburando Bijutsukan ten: meiga de tadoru Nihon no bi ]. Tokyo: Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2014. Reproduced: cat. no. 24, p. 79
  • Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Festival of Insects|url=false|author=Motsurin Jōtō|year=c. 1615–1868|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.16